October 22, 2018
Comedian Sarah Silverman shockingly revealed Monday that longtime friend Louis C.K., whose reputation was shattered last year in a sexual harassment scandal, used to masturbate in front of her on occasion with her consent.
Silverman appeared Monday on Howard Stern's SiriusXM show, where she discussed her relationship with the disgraced and stigmatized comedian.
“I’ve known Louis forever," Silverman said. "I’m not making excuses for him, please don’t take this that way, but you know, we are peers. We are equals … When we were kids, and he asked if he could masturbate in front of me, sometimes I’d go, ‘F—k yeah I want to see that.'”
Audio of the interview, shared by TMZ, can be heard below.
Louis C.K. admitted last November to accusations he had pressured multiple female colleagues into watching him masturbate, abusing his power and in some cases discouraging women from remaining in comedy. A damning story published in The New York Times led his feature film, "I Love You, Daddy," to be dropped after an initial premiere at the Toronto Film Festival.
“It’s not analogous to the other women in this that are talking about what he did to them,” Silverman continued. “He could offer me nothing. We were only just friends. So sometimes, yeah, I wanted to see it, it was amazing. Sometimes I would say, ‘F***ing no, gross,’ and we got pizza.”
Silverman previously expressed ambivalence about how to handle the accusations against C.K. On her Hulu series, "I Love You America," she questioned what it meant to love someone who has done bad things.
"I hope it’s okay if I am at once very angry for the women he wronged and the culture that enabled it — and also sad, because he’s my friend," Silverman said at the time.
Earlier this month, C.K. began performing again at New York City's Comedy Cellar and Caroline's, where's he had mixed receptions from audiences. Whether or not he will ever be welcomed to return to a more prominent stage remains to be seen.
